Not upheld: failure to declare material information; policy avoidance complaint against ACORN INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained that Acorn, an insurance intermediary, failed to inform his insurer H about his driving disqualification, leading to H avoiding his commercial vehicle policy when his van was stolen in May 2024. Mr J had informed Acorn of his disqualification in November 2022, and the policy initially continued with a named driver. However, when the policy was restarted in January 2024 following non-payment, Mr J failed to declare the disqualification, answering 'no' to a direct question about it on the Statement of Fact document. The ombudsman found that because Acorn operated on a non-advised basis, the primary responsibility for accurate declarations rested with Mr J rather than Acorn, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Acorn operated on a non-advised basis, meaning the onus was on Mr J to ensure accurate information was provided to H. Although Acorn was aware of the disqualification from 2022, it was not inappropriate for Acorn to allow the policy to continue with a named driver in place. When the policy was restarted in 2024, Mr J failed to correct the inaccurate declaration that he had not been disqualified from driving. The ombudsman placed primary responsibility on Mr J for ensuring the accuracy of declarations, particularly given that the policy documents explicitly stated cover required the driver to hold a valid licence and not be disqualified.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website